Generally aircraft engine inlets are assembled by hand at manual assembly workstations. Manual assembly of the aircraft engine inlets introduces quality variations, such as between workers assembling similar components. Manual assembly of the aircraft engine inlets may also introduce ergonomic and safety related issues with respect to the workers through, for example, repetitive motion injuries.
In addition, large work areas are needed for any given assembly operation throughput such that workers are provided with sufficient space to maneuver themselves and the parts that need to be assembled.